Authentication service for sales of goods and services

Abstract

An authentication service provides authentication information to help potential buyers determine the legitimacy of an offer to sell a good or service. For example, an authentication service stores registration information that indicates (a) that a particular item was purchased by a particular party, and (b) contact information that indicates a particular address for communicating with the party. When the registered owner of an item wants to sell the item, the owner sends an intent-to-sell message to the authentication service. In response to receiving the intent-to-sell message, the authentication service sends access information to the particular address. The access information specifies a manner of receiving authentication information about the item from the authentication service. The registered owner includes the access information in his or her advertisements for the item. When a potential buyer sees the access information in an advertisement, the potential buyer can obtain the authentication information, directly from the authentication service, using the manner specified in the access information.

1 . A method comprising:
 an authentication service storing registration information that indicates:
 that a particular item was purchased by a first party; and 
 contact information that indicates a particular address for communicating with the first party; 
   the authentication service receiving an intent-to-sell message that indicates a desire to sell the particular item;   in response to receiving the intent-to-sell message, the authentication service sending access information to the particular address;   wherein the access information specifies a manner for potential buyers to obtain authentication information from the authentication service, wherein the authentication information includes at least a portion of the registration information for said particular item;   the authentication service providing the authentication information to potential buyers that employ the manner identified in the access information;   wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the particular address is one of an email address, a mailing address, or a telephone number. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 storing timing data that indicates when the intent-to-sell message was received; and 
 wherein the authentication information that is provided to potential buyers includes the timing data. 
 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the access information includes a link which, when activated by potential buyers, causes retrieval, from the authentication service, of a web page that contains said authentication information. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the authentication information includes the particular address. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the authentication information includes a proxy address for the particular address. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the authentication information includes a history of at least one interaction between the authentication service and the first party subsequent to an initial registration of the particular item. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the at least one interaction was initiated by the authentication service. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the at least one interaction was initiated by the first party. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7  wherein:
 the particular item is a communication-capable item; and 
 the at least one interaction includes a test to determine whether the first party is still in possession of the communication-capable item. 
 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the test involves executing a program on the communication-capable item to extract a first unique identifier from the communication-capable item, and comparing the first unique identifier with a second unique identifier that was stored as part of the registration information. 
     
     
         12 . A method comprising:
 storing, at an authentication service, a first identifier for an item;   comparing the first identifier to a second identifier extracted from the item by an identifier-checker program executing on the communication-capable item;   at the authentication service, storing a record of when the second identifier was extracted from the item and whether the second identifier matched the first identifier;   in response to a request, the authentication service reading the record and sending authentication information about the item, wherein the authentication information indicates when the second identifier was extracted from the item and whether the second identifier matched the first identifier.   
     
     
         13 . A non-transitory storage storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause:
 an authentication service storing registration information that indicates:
 that a particular item was purchased by a first party; and 
 contact information that indicates a particular address for communicating with the first party; 
   the authentication service receiving an intent-to-sell message that indicates a desire to sell the particular item;   in response to receiving the intent-to-sell message, the authentication service sending access information to the particular address;   wherein the access information specifies a manner for potential buyers to obtain authentication information from the authentication service, wherein the authentication information includes at least a portion of the registration information for said particular item;   the authentication service providing the authentication information to potential buyers that employ the manner identified in the access information;   wherein the non-transitory storage is performed by one or more computing devices.   
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory storage of  claim 13  wherein the instructions include instructions for:
 storing timing data that indicates when the intent-to-sell message was received; and 
 wherein the authentication information that is provided to potential buyers includes the timing data. 
 
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory storage of  claim 13  wherein the access information includes a link which, when activated by potential buyers, causes retrieval, from the authentication service, of a web page that contains said authentication information. 
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory storage of  claim 13  wherein the authentication information includes the particular address. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory storage of  claim 13  wherein the authentication information includes a history of at least one interaction between the authentication service and the first party subsequent to an initial registration of the particular item. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory storage of  claim 17  wherein:
 the particular item is a communication-capable item; and 
 the at least one interaction includes a test to determine whether the first party is still in possession of the communication-capable item. 
 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory storage of  claim 18  wherein the test involves executing a program on the communication-capable item to extract a first unique identifier from the communication-capable item, and comparing the first unique identifier with a second unique identifier that was stored as part of the registration information. 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory storage storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause:
 storing, at an authentication service, a first identifier for an item;   comparing the first identifier to a second identifier extracted from the item by an identifier-checker program executing on the communication-capable item;   at the authentication service, storing a record of when the second identifier was extracted from the item and whether the second identifier matched the first identifier;   in response to a request, the authentication service reading the record and sending authentication information about the item, wherein the authentication information indicates when the second identifier was extracted from the item and whether the second identifier matched the first identifier.